Office Information: About Your Visit
Office Hours
Billing
We require payment of your co-payment and past-due account balances at the time of service. We accept cash, checks, debit and all major credit cards.
You can also use our secure Online Bill Pay option to pay current statement balances online without setting up an account.
Fees and Insurance
Charges for office visits and surgery are determined by the time spent, and vary with the severity or complexity of the problem. For your convenience we accept cash, check, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or Discover. Our financial policy states co-payments, co-insurances, and deductibles are due in full at the time of service rendered. Dr. Maale is a specialist, and the fees charged may be in excess of what your insurance carrier considers reasonable and customary. All insurance companies vary in their own reasonable and customary fees. A $25.00 service fee will be charged on all returned checks. If you have any billing questions, we ask that you contact our accounts manager at (877) 547-7772.
Staging Conference
This conference is your opportunity to learn about your particular disease and treatment plan. Please write down all questions, so you will remember to ask during this visit. It is office policy you must return to the office to get results of all studies performed. We cannot release any information over the phone. Please allow up to two hours for this visit.
Appointments
We ask that you call the office and make appointments at least three (3) months in advance for follow-up appointments. We respect your time and we will try our best to remain on schedule. If you are unable to keep your scheduled appointment, please call (214) 691-9777 x204 at least 24 hours in advance so that we may give this time to another patient.
Follow-up Visits
Follow-up visits are helpful in evaluating progress, discussing new problems, which may arise, and prescribing newer modalities of treatment as they become available. After a surgical procedure, your follow-up visits must be with the performing orthopaedic surgeon and/or his staff. We understand that some of you travel long distances, and we are frequently asked if the postoperative checkups could be performed by a local physician. Although this might be more convenient, it is not medically safe. Only the surgeon or surgeons who performed your operation know the important details of the procedure that was performed. Many of the problems we treat are complex and unusual, and as a result, the surgeries are complicated and often involve aspects that our local physicians may not be familiar with; that is why you were referred to this practice in the first place. As well, from an ethical standpoint, the operating surgeon is responsible for your postoperative care for 90 days (the surgical fee includes coverage for this time period) and it is unfair to ask another physician to assume this responsibility. Even if you feel like you are doing fine, it is important that we see you because our experience allows us to detect or avoid early problems (before you might be aware of something) and we need to guide your rehabilitation efforts so that you recover as quickly and smoothly as possible.
Emergency
If you have an urgent problem, such as extreme pain, bleeding, or fever greater than 101.5 o , please call our office at (214) 691-9777 x207 for instructions. Our answering service is on call 24 hours a day and will take your number and locate your physician as soon as possible. If your doctor is away, the answering service will put you in contact with the specialist handling the calls.
Telephone Calls
Please feel free to call our office if you have questions regarding your condition, medication, or treatment at 214-691-9777 x207. Our staff is specially trained to answer your questions. If you have developed a complication or a new problem, please understand the need for a reexamination in the office. Due to high volume of calls and continuous clinics, the staff may not be available to take your call immediately. Please leave a detailed message in the voice mail system that includes the patient's name and phone number with area code and the staff will return your call as soon as possible.
Prescription Refill
All requests for refill of medications must be made between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Narcotic pain medication will not be refilled without a physician's approval and will not be given or refilled at nights or on weekends. Please plan ahead and call 214-691-9777 x207 before the weekend if you are needing a refill.
Comments
We welcome your questions and comments concerning our approach, our office staff, and any aspect of our practice. Thank you for choosing our practice for your health care needs.